Russia’s state TV tells people to prepare for World War Three and best foods to take into shelters

A Russian state TV station has told people what food they should take into bomb shelters as fears grow about the start of World War Three. Kremlin-owned Rossiya-24 said that there were lots of scare stories around, but then went on to tell people to pack iodine to protect themselves from radiation.

The warnings come as the crisis over the situation in Syria continues to deepen. Presenters told people they should avoid pasta and leave chocolate and sweets above ground. He said: ‘A year ago when I said we had entered a new Cold War, nobody agreed with me.

‘Now everyone agrees but it has become clear that events in this second Cold War develop a lot quicker. ‘It’s only just started and, here you go, we already have Cuban Missile Crisis 2.0.’

The bomb shell advice included stated: ‘The food supply for doomsday includes many items but the main idea behind packing an emergency stock is less sweets, more water. ‘ Viewers were told to pack rice – ‘it can be stored for up to eight years, oatmeal for three to seven years’. The Russian favourite of buckwheat only lasts one year, they were informed. ‘Obviously, you can survive on tinned meat for quite a while – up to five years, while canned fish keeps for not more than two years.

‘Of course it is hard to do without milk, at least powdered, sugar and salt. Russian tradition suggests we should buy pasta in times of cataclysms. ‘But professional survivors do not recommend taking this product into bomb shelters.’

TV presenter Alexey Kazakov said: ‘Life in the underground world will be particularly hard for the sweet toothed. ‘Chocolates, sweets, condensed milk, all this will have to be left behind. ‘Yes, glucose is a great source of energy but sweets cause thirst, and water will become the most precious source for residents of bomb shelters.’

A so-called expert called Eduard Khalilov – interviewed on Skype – said: ‘The more water, the better. ‘Because you can survive for two to three weeks without food, but it gets really hard without water after three days only. ‘Water is needed to digest food too. And water is the first thing one should think of.’ Experts ‘say that it is also necessary to take supplies of medicines with iodine that help body deal with radiation’. The report said panic was worse in America, adding: ‘It is interesting whether Russians believe this nonsense…. ‘After electing (Donald) Trump, the business of American producers of bomb shelters is booming.’